2021 Bride/Groom

Michellenman

sambowden wrote: »

we sent out "save the date"s to everyone we wanted to invite last year before we knew where we'd be now (about 180 people). We are getting married in September so it seems like we will be able to have 100 now. We will wait until maybe July before we send out the invites themselves. Not sure if we will contact those that we sent saves the dates to but not invites, but I dont think its needed as people understand the current situation.

I agree that people will understand that they got a save the date but not an invite but I would definitely contact them and tell them. What if they are putting off booking a weekend away or have requested the time off work because they got the save the date? With restrictions at 25 it’s much easier to assume you wouldn’t be invited but when it gets to 100 then lots of people will think they’ve made the list even when they might not have. It’s the sound thing to do to contact them and let them know.

sambowden

ya, fair counterpoint for sure. Although I dont know if I'm ready to contact people to tell them didnt make the cut
A bit awkward! Will probably take it on a case by case basis, tell some, but maybe not others! Will probably have a few deep chats on the subject over the next few weeks with family and friends to figure out best approach. Thankfully it looks like it will only be a small number with September number looking good.

SushiLover31

How have people who cancelled dates found it with regards to deposits. Some suppliers we gave large deposits to, can't do our second date.

AppleD

SushiLover31 wrote: »

How have people who cancelled dates found it with regards to deposits. Some suppliers we gave large deposits to, can't do our second date.

Lost a couple of deposits but nothing major. We worked our second date around the date that suited as many suppliers as possible. In the end we only lost two and they held deposit. Was a bit pissed off as our original date would’ve only allowed 6 people and those suppliers would’ve been unnecessary for such a small group.

woodchuck

I was finally able to chat to the new wedding coordinator today. She confirmed that we CAN have a DJ. It's such a relief, but I'm so mad at the other person for answering the question when she obviously hadn't a clue.

Michellenman

Where are you guys getting ordering your invites from? I’m very tempted to order a digital file from Etsy and have it printed locally. No idea where in Dublin other than maybe Reades on Nassau st?


Also, it’s really nice to be looking at these fun things for weddings rather than just the constant worry of the past 15 months

woodchuck

We've ordered our invites from optimal print.

Its been a bit of a saga though. We ordered over a week ago and they were due to be delivered today or yesterday. I hadn't got an email or text to say that they were on the way though, so I checked my spam folder, which had an email from a week ago to say that there was a technical glitch, the invites can't be printed and to pick another design. I was freaking out! We went with optimal print because we heard they're meant to be quick and now we've lost a whole week (and it took me ages to pick a design to begin with and get it just right). I placed a new order with them yesterday and apparently they've been printed and shipped today, so hopefully we'll have them by the end of the week and we'll get them sent next week.

Under normal circumstances I'd love to support a small Irish business and wouldn't even mind spending a bit more money on something more unique/bespoke. But we've left it later than I would've liked to send the invites due to Covid, so we've just gone with what is supposed to be the quickest option for physical invites.

We just plan to send electronic invitations to our guests living abroad though (using paperlesspost). That's because (1) international post can take ages and we just don't have time for that and (2) I'd expect most/all to decline the invite anyway.

aoife1991

I used Zazzle for my wedding invite. I bought a timeline template on Etsy and edited it, saved it as a jpg and I uploaded it to SnapFish to print it. I will send out the timeline with the wedding invite. Zazzle don't allow you to upload your own design but SnapFish do so if you love a design on Etsy, I would advise going with that option. Snapfish regularly have sales so don't pay full price. A browser add on like Honey will help you find a coupon to save money.

I had a look at Optimal Print as like others I had heard good things. I didn't see any designs that suited the theme of the wedding but there was a half off sale at the time. I will probably go with Optimal Print for my thank you cards.

Neyite

Can't help you because I've designed my own and will print them myself at home.

dzilla

Optimal print are printed in clare and a 1 day dispatch if its during the week. once you dont go for a fancy finish with rounded corners and order before 3pm you should very well have them the next day. I was impressed with the dispatch time.

woodchuck

dzilla wrote: »

Optimal print are printed in clare and a 1 day dispatch if its during the week. once you dont go for a fancy finish with rounded corners and order before 3pm you should very well have them the next day. I was impressed with the dispatch time.

Yeah we ordered the second lot on Monday evening and they were printed and shipping yesterday. The expected delivery date is tomorrow (hopefully).

The first batch we ordered had foil, which is printed outside of Ireland and therefore takes longer to deliver. I still have no idea what the technical glitch was with that batch, but I didn't want to wait longer for foil when placing the second order.

We were planning on using Optimal Print or doing them ourselves but in the end we went with an Irish company called Save The Date. The lady who owns it and designs the invites is lovely to deal with.

confusticated

We did them all online using greenvelope.com. Partly to generate less waste, but also it was easy to add people to the list when numbers increased or people declined, and we could change details on it and it all updated for everyone. It also allowed us to download the invitation as a pdf and we got a couple of copies printed locally for older relatives who wouldn't have email. Got lots of good feedback on the online option, it's a bit fancier than just getting an image emailed out!

AppleD

Hi all, hope all well. A bit stressed so looking for advice. Our wedding is on in August and we are soon sending out invites.

Part of me is thinking to go ahead and invite approx 80 but also part of me thinks that this might not be possible, so just invite 50 as I think this is more realistic.

It's so hard because you have people saying to you "isn't it great you can have 100 now?" When really this may not even be the case. But also I had got my head around 50, ordered favours etc based on this number. No idea what to do. I just feel if I go with the smaller number of 50 or 60 it'd be less chance of having to change this. Although then will some friends etc not be wondering why they didn't get an invite if we had the room...

aoife1991

AppleD wrote: »

Hi all, hope all well. A bit stressed so looking for advice. Our wedding is on in August and we are soon sending out invites.

Part of me is thinking to go ahead and invite approx 80 but also part of me thinks that this might not be possible, so just invite 50 as I think this is more realistic.

It's so hard because you have people saying to you "isn't it great you can have 100 now?" When really this may not even be the case. But also I had got my head around 50, ordered favours etc based on this number. No idea what to do. I just feel if I go with the smaller number of 50 or 60 it'd be less chance of having to change this. Although then will some friends etc not be wondering why they didn't get an invite if we had the room...

In the same boat, getting married in October and went through the invite list during the week - 65 guests. Despite my mother in law really trying to push her guestlist without financially contributing to the wedding (the ****ing neighbours et al), I am still determine to hold on to a small number. I think the best thing is to be honest and communicate with your guests. Let them know now that if there is a rise in numbers and restrictions come back, they won't be bringing a plus one so that you can have as many loved ones as you want on your day. People are more understanding than you think. You can always reach out to the 30 people that are dubious at the moment and say that you really want them there but will have to see if you are allowed the full guest list closer to the time. That way there won't be any hurt feeling as you have to consider family numbers first.

AppleD

Thanks Aoife

Yeah I think we'll send out about 60 or 70. If it does got to 100 that announcement most likely won't be given until about very start of August.

I think by planning for a smaller number, its more realistic. Also I wouldn't want 100 there without being able to dance etc.


The announcements are always so late, like people getting married in July still don't really know if 50 will be confirmed until next week.

Sierra Oscar

How do we feel about the push back of the relaxation of restrictions? I'm hoping we will still see 100 allowed at weddings from August 5th onwards, but it's hard to know. No certainty at all for couples. Deeply frustrating.

woodchuck

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

How do we feel about the push back of the relaxation of restrictions? I'm hoping we will still see 100 allowed at weddings from August 5th onwards, but it's hard to know. No certainty at all for couples. Deeply frustrating.

It's hard to know. There's a lot of noise about delaying indoor dining, but I don't know if other measures (like increasing numbers at weddings) will be delayed too. I guess we'll know more by the end of next week?

I'm posting my invites for September on Monday regardless (inviting more than 50, but expecting less than 50 to accept).

BigMo1

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

How do we feel about the push back of the relaxation of restrictions? I'm hoping we will still see 100 allowed at weddings from August 5th onwards, but it's hard to know. No certainty at all for couples. Deeply frustrating.

We’re due to get married on July 24th. I can’t exaggerate how much this has put myself and my fiancé through.

confusticated

It's really, really frustrating. We finally felt we were safe inviting 50 for July, 48 have accepted. I don't know how we'll face into uninviting people again, just hoping it doesn't come to it. They left weddings as they were in October bar banning hair and makeup so hopefully they'll keep them separate to indoor dining this time too.

Goose76

We had our day on Thursday after one postponement. It was wonderful. Everyone had a great time.

I wouldn’t wish the stress of planning a COVID wedding on anyone. I know it’s easier said than done to say “just go ahead” because everyone has their own situations but at the same time - Jesus - the relief of actually being married now and not having to stress anymore about restrictions is amazing. It’s only now the wedding is done that the stress of the past year has hit me.

Every single person we “uninvited” totally understood our dilemma with COVID and they are all demanding pictures and videos of the wedding day many have even sent cards and gifts to us.

I know it’s easy for me to say now but my advice would be if in doubt - just go ahead. If we had to postpone again I think the stress would have crushed me. I can now move on with my life and have now already accepted a new job offer and we have both begun looking forward to next chapters in our lives.

Wishing everyone luck with the upcoming weddings!

dzilla

AppleD wrote: »

Hi all, hope all well. A bit stressed so looking for advice. Our wedding is on in August and we are soon sending out invites.

Part of me is thinking to go ahead and invite approx 80 but also part of me thinks that this might not be possible, so just invite 50 as I think this is more realistic.

It's so hard because you have people saying to you "isn't it great you can have 100 now?" When really this may not even be the case. But also I had got my head around 50, ordered favours etc based on this number. No idea what to do. I just feel if I go with the smaller number of 50 or 60 it'd be less chance of having to change this. Although then will some friends etc not be wondering why they didn't get an invite if we had the room...

we are the same, we have sent 50 , but now we are wondering is 50 even going to be allowed.

dzilla

aoife1991 wrote: »

Despite my mother in law really trying to push her guestlist without financially contributing to the wedding (the ****ing neighbours et al)

I cannot believe this expectation is still there in the current climate

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

How do we feel about the push back of the relaxation of restrictions? I'm hoping we will still see 100 allowed at weddings from August 5th onwards, but it's hard to know. No certainty at all for couples. Deeply frustrating.

I am hugely concerned about weddings not getting increased to 50, if they keep the indoor hospitality locked down for 2-3 weeks then I cannot see them being sympatheic on the other hand to weddings. It will just give the vfi etc a stick to beat the government with.

BigMo1 wrote: »

We’re due to get married on July 24th. I can’t exaggerate how much this has put myself and my fiancé through.

Honestly, the most stressful few weeks of my life.

Goose76 wrote: »

We had our day on Thursday after one postponement. It was wonderful. Everyone had a great time.
...................
Wishing everyone luck with the upcoming weddings!

Really good to hear of your experience and I know it will go a long way reassuring a lot of people on this forum who are tying the knot in the coming weeks.

aoife1991

dzilla wrote: »

I cannot believe this expectation is still there in the current climate

Oh dzilla, don't get me started. I could rant for Ireland on her ridiculous expectations and insistence that I stick to all things traditional. She has had to be reminded several times that it is OUR day, not her day. I wish to feck I stuck to my guns and eloped... Sure anyway, it's one day. I am trying to keep her busy with lots of jobs so she doesn't start sticking her oar in again or trying to give me opinions on things that have already been decided and deposits paid for. :rolleyes:

Sierra Oscar

dzilla wrote: »

I am hugely concerned about weddings not getting increased to 50, if they keep the indoor hospitality locked down for 2-3 weeks then I cannot see them being sympatheic on the other hand to weddings. It will just give the vfi etc a stick to beat the government with.

The general consensus appears to be that weddings will still get the go ahead to increase to 50 guests, although I'll believe it when I see it.

If that did transpire it would mirror what has occurred in the UK. Easing of most restrictions have been pushed back, but the weddings restrictions are being eased as originally planned.

It is strange to think that we could have 50+ guests at a wedding but potentially no live music. I would really hate that along with an 11pm finish time.

witchgirl26

Deleted User wrote: »

It is strange to think that we could have 50+ guests at a wedding but potentially no live music. I would really hate that along with an 11pm finish time.

I was at a wedding last week with 25 and no live music. Honestly it was actually grand. We had a ipad hooked up to the speaker system in the room playing background music all night. The bar closed at 11.30pm sharp, music had to end by midnight but they let us stay in the room until 1am. Honestly I didn't miss the music as much as I thought I would. And it gave people more an opportunity to chat. Plus the bride & groom could do their first dance when suited them as opposed to being constrained to a band's timetable. They didn't do it till almost 10pm.

witchgirl26

witchgirl26 wrote: »

I was at a wedding last week with 25 and no live music. Honestly it was actually grand. We had a ipad hooked up to the speaker system in the room playing background music all night. The bar closed at 11.30pm sharp, music had to end by midnight but they let us stay in the room until 1am. Honestly I didn't miss the music as much as I thought I would. And it gave people more an opportunity to chat. Plus the bride & groom could do their first dance when suited them as opposed to being constrained to a band's timetable. They didn't do it till almost 10pm.

That is.....reassuring....:o Ah no it will be fine I know. We are October so our 80 guests can demonstrate their singing voices and maybe someone will bring a guitar

dzilla

Weddings to increase to 50 as planned from July 5.

Alkers

And interestingly, it seems that the "Vaccine bonus" of being allowed indoor visitors is goign to have the three household cap lifted from July 5th so you could have an unlimited number of visitors in your house, once they are fully vaccinated. That's goign to make enforcement quite difficult